Murdle puzzle book tops Christmas 2023 bestsellers’ chart - and it's named as Waterstones Gift of the Year

A book of murder mystery puzzles, ­described as a cross between Cluedo and Wordle, has taken top spot in the Christmas bestsellers’ chart.

Murdle, a puzzle book “for armchair detectives everywhere”, has been awarded first place in the last book chart to be published before Christmas. The book of logic puzzles created by GT Karber, an American “whodunnit enthusiast”, has sold more than 200,000 copies in Britain since it was published in June. Over a quarter of them were bought in the week ending Saturday December 16.

The book has 100 murder mystery puzzles that ask readers to use codes and maps to complete a grid to work out who the killers are, as well as how ­and why they did it. It's been described as a "fiendishly compulsive and absolutely killer collection" of 100 original murder mystery logic puzzles. Readers will join Deductive Logico and pit their wits against a slew of dastardly villains in order to discover who committed the ghastly deed, what weapon was used to dispatch the victim and where the dreadful demise occured?

These humorous mini-mystery puzzles challenge the reader to find whodunit, how, where, and why. They can examine the clues, interview the witnesses, and use the power of deduction to complete the grid and catch the culprit. Packed with illustrations, codes, and maps, this is the must-have detective casebook for the secret sleuth in everyone. You'll soon find out if you are the next Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot, if you dare to Murdle.

Philip Stone, an analyst at Nielsen said: “Murdle has been a consistent top ten bestseller since it was published this summer. However, its sales have really ramped up in recent weeks. It sold ­just 5,300 copies in the week ending Saturday November 4 but sold almost ten times that figure in the UK last week.”

Stone said crime and puzzles were obvious routes to success. “Crime pays in the UK book market. £125 million has been spent on crime novels in the UK in 2023, and another £5 million has been spent on true crime non-fiction books. Brits also love a good puzzle book and, helped by the success of Murdle, sales of puzzle books in the UK this year are the highest since 2005, when Sudoku books were all the rage.”

The book has received fantastic reviews. Richard Osman, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Thursday Murder Club series, described the book as "an absolute phenomenon [and] the perfect stocking filler."  Janice Hallett, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Appeal, declared: "This will be *the* puzzle sensation of the year. Each scenario is solved using logic and deduction, perfect for armchair sleuths and puzzlers. It's clever, satisfying and utterly addictive." Mindy Quigley, author of Six Feet Deep Dish, said the book provides "bite-sized mysteries that are simply to die for."

The book has also been named as Waterstones' Gift of the Year and is a number one Sunday Times bestseller. You can buy a copy of Murdle yourself now on Amazon. The RRP for the book is £14.99.